I never thought of that to begin the questions, I should have known that. I mean I am sure that those two (Patterson/Taveras) came with red flags and bells going off attached to themselves before ever getting to Cincinnati.
That's right, he does have to have a lot more PA/AB to even begin to see what he really might be. I believe in Stubbs. We know he is an outstanding CF, and I am pretty sure that most of us think that he is better than the two predecessors in center which helps the pitching, to me that is a big deal.And if they were on my team, they'd primarily have been defensive replacements and pinch runners. When they did bat, they would have bat low in the order. Patterson 7th or 8th, Taveras 9th. Stubbs would be batting 7th or 8th. He's struggled mightily, but I'm not going to render on a judgement until he's had another few hundred PA. It's not like we have other options beating down our door and he does have potential.
I think that Stubbs should have been allowed to get acclimated, to get some time and experience against the pitchers that he faces at this level, and down in the order where there is less pressure, and a bit less lime light or demands on him to approach the leadoff a bit differently than he might have to down below. Not to mention giving time for his confidence to grow vs maybe hurting it in the leadoff. Of course I can't support that his swing or contact rates would improve down below, but I would really like to see what he can do with more time and adjusting down there. Of course by suggesting that it says that I believe that he will do better and grow from there.I would caution us to not lump Taveras with Patterson and Stubbs. Taveras is Juan Pierre with only good contact rates instead of elite ones. Patterson and Stubbs are more similar, in that they both have power potential, but are hampered in their ability to use it due low contact rates resulting from a long swing. The difference between the two is that Stubbs has better discipline than Patterson, which gives him a better shot of sticking.
However, unless and until Stubbs starts making more contact on balls in the zone, he's got no shot. His contact rate is 4th lowest in baseball. While you can get away with low contact rates if you have great plate discipline and prodigious power, his discipline is merely good and he's not found a way to consistently hit for power. The 3 guys below him: Reynolds, Blanks and Upton (Justin). The 3 above him Kemp, Dunn and Hamilton.
Stubbs is it. I just think that they could utilize his time to adjust to how they are pitching him at this level better down in the order.Bottom line, I don't think the Reds have a better CF option right now than Stubbs (unless you count Bruce, which the Reds don't), so he should be playing every day. But it's not a good idea to continue batting him leadoff everyday. Speed is more valuable lower in the lineup (where bases are harder to advance and less costly to lose) and we should be giving more PA to our best hitters. I'd be playing Hanigan 4 days a week and leading him off when he plays. When Hernandez plays, push Phillips to leadoff, Rolen to 2nd.
I think that I understand why you say Hanigan and Rolen.
Me with the way the team is short as made up, unless Votto really rejected strongly, I would have moved him to left for days when Hanigan is catching and played Hernandez at first, then loaded the OBP SLG to get the most PA/AB and worked the splits some depending on the left or right. Phillips I think will adjust and adapt hitting either one or two. If he can, he will.
I like the idea of switching the catchers back and forth to keep them fresher in the catching duties. I want run support for the pitching too. I don't want them thinking they have to be perfect, because that isn't going to happen.
Nothing absolute or in stone, all with adapting and adjusting in mind as it comes.